During summer, rising temperatures become a more serious threat for student athletes training outdoors.

The forecast for the rest of this week and the beginning of next week calls for temperatures in the 90s, according to www.weather.com.

The Saluki football team starts conditioning at 6 a.m. and again at 3 p.m. Assistant trainer Lee Land is part of the athletic training staff in charge of monitoring the team and keeping the players hydrated in the hot summer weather at practices.

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Land said several students studying athletic training watch during practices for signs that the players are experiencing stress or dehydration.

“One of the big things and part of our jobs as athletic trainers are that the players stay properly hydrated,” Land said. “We talk about proper hydration with the athletes before camp starts and we talk about making sure they get plenty of fluids like water or sports drinks.”

The football team practices various times during the day, whether it’s hot or not. Trainers check the temperature and humidity before conditioning to decide on the number of breaks to take. Lands said it’s important for players to keep track of their fluid intake.

Land said he stresses to the athletes is that they can’t become dehydrated one day and then become hydrated the next day.

“You have to stay hydrated the entire time, and it’s more than just drinking water. It is a dietary process as well,” he said.

The University’s baseball camp for 7-13 year olds also has the advantage of having athletic trainers on site while the campers practice from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Campers are given icy treats like popsicles to keep hydrated.

There are water coolers at all stations of the field. The campers also get a chance to cool off by practicing sliding on a watered down hill using a hose. Assistant Baseball Coach Ken Henderson said it is a fun and easy way to learn how to slide.

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“They take water whenever they want to. That’s become a big deal over the last few years because of a death in football of a Minnesota Viking lineman a few years ago that was heat-related,” Henderson said.

Since non-student athletes usually do not have a trainer on call, Land recommended precautions to keep cool and avoid heatstroke.

“The big thing with hydration is just education,” Lamb said.

He said people need to know that they should be hydrated before they start an activity, which is influenced by what they drank the previous day or days.

Coordinator of Sports Medicine John Massie said it is important for people to be aware of the conditions of the environment in which they exercise.

“A couple things you should keep in mind about the heat:First of all, don’t necessarily exercise in the heat of the day between, like, 11 and 3 in the afternoon. Don’t exercise outside. I mean, that’s the hottest part of the day if you’re going to wear light clothing,” Massie said.

Massie said that while thirst is not a very good indicator of how much fluid the body needs during exercise, people should be aware of their body’s fluid loss.

“Eight glasses of water a day for the average person is good,” Massie said. “Now, you have to obviously increase that if you are going to be outside and sweating a lot. People will weigh themselves before and after exercise to measure the amount of water they lose.”

When it comes down to the choice between sports drinks and water, Massie said water is the best choice overall. He also added that if doing heavy exercising, it is always good to supplement water intake with a sports drink diluted with water.

Massie advised taking breaks every 15 minutes or so of continuous exercise to take a water break.

“A lot of times I put water out on the course before I run so I know the times when to drink water along the way,” Massie said.

Reporter Hilary Matheson can be reached [email protected]